As Introduced

127th General Assembly
Regular Session
2007-2008
S. B. No. 171


Senator Stivers 

Cosponsors: Senators Jacobson, Schuring, Schuler, Mumper 

A BILL
To amend sections 4727.08, 4727.11, 4737.01, and 1
4737.04 and to enact sections 4737.041, 4737.042, 2
and 4737.043 of the Revised Code to make certain 3
changes to the Pawnbrokers Law and the Secondhand 4
Dealers Law.5


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 4727.08, 4727.11, 4737.01, and 6
4737.04 be amended and sections 4737.041, 4737.042, and 4737.043 7
of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:8

       Sec. 4727.08.  (A) Every person licensed as a pawnbroker9
shall keep and use separate pawn forms and purchase forms to be10
approved by the superintendent of financial institutions.11

       (B) The licensee shall record on the appropriate form for12
each pawn or purchase all of the following information:13

       (1) The date and time of the pledging or purchasing;14

       (2) The amount of the loan or the purchase price;15

       (3) The rate of interest and the charges to be paid on the16
loan;17

       (4) The time within which the pledgor is to redeem the18
pledged property;19

       (5) The name, age, and address of the pledgor or seller;20

       (6) A driver's license number, military identification21
number, or other personal identification number found on any other 22
government-issued identification card;23

       (7) A physical description of the pledgor or seller;24

       (8) An accurate description of the pledged or purchased25
property, including the name of the manufacturer, any serial and26
model numbers, any identifying features, and any identifying27
letters or marks;28

       (9) Any other disclosures required by federal law.29

       (C) A copy of each form used in a pawn or purchase shall be30
kept at all times in numerical order in an active or inactive31
file, as appropriate, and the licensee shall account for all form 32
numbers.33

       (D) The records and forms, at all times, shall be kept at the 34
licensed location and available for inspection by the35
superintendent and by the chief of police of the municipal36
corporation or township in which the licensee's place of business37
is located or, if the place of business is not located within a38
municipal corporation or a township that has a chief of police, by39
the sheriff of the county in which the place of business is40
located. Upon demand of any of them, the licensee shall produce41
and show any records, forms, pledges, or purchases which are in42
the licensee's possession.43

       (E) Except in the case of a pledged motor vehicle,44
watercraft, or outboard motor, the licensee shall keep all pledges45
and purchases at the licensee's place of business unless a46
pledgor, in writing, agrees otherwise at the time the pledge is47
made. If the item pledged for the pawn loan is a motor vehicle,48
watercraft, or outboard motor, the licensee shall take possession49
of both the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor and the50
certificate of title to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard51
motor and shall keep the certificate at the licensee's place of52
business but, upon notification to the pledgor, may keep the motor53
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor at a location other than54
the licensee's place of business. No pledge shall be removed from 55
the place of business for the licensee's personal use or gain.56

       (F) Every person licensed as a pawnbroker under this chapter57
shall keep and use an intelligible set of books and records in the58
English language in complying with this chapter with respect to59
recording the details of each purchase or loan. Except as provided 60
in division (J) of this section, all information required to be 61
recorded by this chapter shall be entered in a bound book or on 62
loose-leaf, permanent forms used exclusively for that purpose.63
Forms shall be identical and consecutively numbered, and each64
shall contain two or more pages. One part of each form shall be65
detachable and, when completed, shall serve as the statement to be66
given by the licensee to the pledgor or seller as provided by67
section 4727.07 of the Revised Code, the. The remaining part of68
the form shall be retained in the licensee's permanent records.69
All forms shall be accounted for.70

       (G) No licensee shall require a borrower to affix the71
borrower's signature to a blank or partially filled out pawn form72
or other record.73

       (H) Every licensee shall preserve the licensee's books,74
forms, accounts, and records for at least two years after making75
the final entry regarding any purchase or pledge of property76
recorded therein.77

       (I) All pawn and purchase forms, legal notices, and payment78
receipt forms shall reflect the name under which the licensee is79
registered with the superintendent and the complete address of the80
place of business.81

       (J) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a82
licensee may use other methods of recording data, keeping records,83
and keeping books, such as electronic or computerized methods, in84
lieu of the methods described in this section, provided written85
printouts or hard copies of the required data are readily86
available in a form approved, in advance, by the superintendent.87

       Sec. 4727.11.  (A) If a pledgor fails to pay interest to a 88
person licensed as a pawnbroker on a pawn loan for two months from 89
the date of the loan or the date on which the last interest90
payment is due, the licensee shall notify the pledgor by mail,91
with proof of mailing, to the last place of address given by the92
pledgor, that unless the pledgor redeems the pledged property or93
pays all interest due and storage charges within thirty days from94
the date the notice is mailed, the pledged property shall be95
forfeited to the licensee. If the pledgor fails to redeem or pay96
all interest due and storage charges within the period specified97
in the notice, the licensee becomes the owner of the pledged98
property.99

       (B) In the event that any article or property is redeemed by100
a person other than the pledgor, the pledgor shall sign the101
pledgor's copy of the statement required under section 4727.07 of102
the Revised Code, which copy shall be presented by the person to103
the licensee. The licensee shall verify the name of the person104
redeeming the article or property, and shall record the person's105
name and driver's license number, military identification number,106
or other personal identification number found on any other 107
government-issued identification card, on the licensee's copy of 108
the statement, and shall require the person to sign this copy.109

       (C) In the event that any articles or property pledged are110
lost or rendered inoperable due to negligence of the licensee, the111
licensee shall replace the articles or property with identical112
articles or property, except that if the licensee cannot113
reasonably obtain identical articles or property, the licensee114
shall replace the articles or property with like articles or115
property.116

       (D) When an account is paid in full, the licensee shall117
return the pledged article immediately to the pledgor. In the118
event the pledgor sells, transfers, or assigns the pledge, the119
licensee shall verify the name of the person redeeming the pledge120
and record that person's name,; driver's license number, military 121
identification number, or other identification number found on any 122
other government-issued identification card; and signature on the 123
permanent copy of the statement of pledge required pursuant to 124
section 4727.07 of the Revised Code. The licensee also shall 125
obtain the signature of the pledgor, or other person redeeming the126
pledge, upon a separate record of the transaction, that 127
acknowledges the total dollar amount paid for redemption and the 128
date of redemption. All records shall be kept in the licensee's 129
place of business.130

       Sec. 4737.01.  (A) A person purchasing, selling, exchanging, 131
or receiving secondhand articles of any kind, scrap iron, old 132
metal, canvas, rope, branded bottles, junk or lead pipe, except 133
plow irons, old stoves, and furniture, shall post in a conspicuous 134
place in or upon histhe person's shop, store, wagon, boat, or135
other place of business, a sign having histhe person's name and136
occupation legibly inscribed thereon, and keep a separate book, 137
open to inspection by any law enforcement officer, in which shall 138
be written, in the English language, at the time of the purchase 139
or exchange of such articles, a description thereof, the name,140
description, and residence, and driver's license number, military 141
identification number, or other identification number found on any 142
other government-issued identification card of the person from 143
whom purchased and received, and the day and hour when such 144
purchase or exchange was made. Every entry shall be numbered 145
consecutively, commencing with number one.146

       (B) Any person, prior to purchasing any secondhand article of 147
furniture or secondhand electrical or gas appliance or equipment 148
for the purpose of resale to the general public, other than an 149
article or special procedures article, the acquisition of which is 150
governed by section 4737.04 or 4737.041 of the Revised Code, shall151
demand to examine the seller's driver's or commercial driver's152
license or identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to153
4507.52 of the Revised Code and one additional type of card154
typically used for identification purposes.155

       The purchaser shall keep a written record of the number of156
the license or identification card and the type and number of the157
other identification card accepted together with the date of158
purchase, the name and address of the seller, and a description of 159
the article purchased. The purchaser shall retain the written160
record for at least one year and shall make the record available161
for inspection by any law enforcement officer at all reasonable162
times. For the purposes of this division, the purchaser may163
utilize the written record hethe purchaser is required to keep164
where applicable under division (A) of this section and add to it 165
the information required by this division.166

       Sec. 4737.04. (A) As used in this section and sections 167
4737.041 and 4737.042 of the Revised Code:168

       (1) "Scrap metal dealer" means a person who purchases or 169
receives scrap iron, metal, and waste materials.170

       (2) "Special procedures article" means all of the following:171

       (a) Air conditioners;172

       (b) Beer kegs;173

       (c) Cable or other wire that is wound upon a spool or reel; 174

       (d) Electronic devices; 175

       (e) Furnaces;176

        (f) Grave markers, sculptures, plaques, and vases, the 177
appearance of which suggest that the articles have been obtained 178
from a cemetery;179

       (g) Guard rails for bridges, highways, and roads; highway and 180
street signs; street light poles and fixtures; manhole covers, 181
water meter covers, and other similar types of utility access 182
covers; traffic directional and control signs and light signals, 183
metal marked with the name of a political subdivision of the 184
state, and other articles that are purchased and installed for use 185
upon authorization of the state or any political subdivision of 186
the state;187

       (h) Historical markers;188

       (i) Hot water heaters;189

       (j) Motor vehicles, as defined in division (B) of section 190
4501.01 of the Revised Code;191

       (k) Refrigerators, freezers, stoves, clothes washers or 192
dryers.193

       (3) "Electronic device" means any device relating to 194
technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, 195
optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities but does not 196
include any common consumer household electronic device.197

       (4) "Common consumer household electronic device" means a 198
device powered by electricity that is commonly used in a personal 199
residence and is not designed for commercial use and includes, but 200
is not limited to, garage door openers; answering machines; 201
blenders; cassette players and recorders; record players; compact 202
disc players and recorders; calculators; clocks; coffee or tea 203
makers; copy machines; digital video disc players and recorders; 204
fans, hairdryers; hot pots; lamps and light fixtures; microwave 205
ovens; paper shredders; personal computers; printers; scanners; 206
fax machines; security system components; stereo components; 207
televisions; telephones; toasters; toaster ovens; vacuums and 208
other floor cleaning or care equipment; videocassette players and 209
recorders; can openers, griddles, grills, knives, slicers, 210
slow-cookers, and other similar kitchen appliances; razors, 211
toothbrushes, curling or straightening irons, and other similar 212
personal care and hygiene items; drills, sanders, saws, and other 213
similar tools; blowers, chain saws, hedge clippers, mowers, 214
pressure washers, trimmers, and other similar workshop lawn and 215
garden tools.216

       (5) "Common recycled matter" means glass bottles and other 217
glass containers, plastic bottles and other plastic containers, 218
newspapers, and magazines.219

       (6) "Industrial sales" means sales transacted between a scrap 220
metal dealer and a person whose primary business is to supply 221
scrap metal dealers with ferrous and nonferrous metal in bulk 222
quantities on a regular basis. 223

       (7) "Recyclable materials" means items for which a code is 224
designated by the institute for scrap recycling industries or its 225
successor organization.226

       (B) Every scrap metal dealer in scrap iron, metal, and waste 227
materials shall maintain a record book of recordsor electronic 228
file, in which hethe dealer shall keep an accurate and complete229
record of all articles purchased or received by himthe dealer in 230
the course of histhe dealer's daily business. On and after the 231
effective date of this amendment, every entry in the record book 232
or electronic file shall be numbered consecutively, commencing 233
with number one. Every dealer shall maintain the record for each 234
article purchased or received for a minimum period of six months 235
after the date the dealer purchased or received the article. Said 236
records shall contain all of the namefollowing information:237

       (1) Name, description, and residence, and driver's license 238
number, military identification number, or other identification 239
number found on any other government-issued identification card of240
the person from whom said articles were purchased or received and 241
the;242

       (2) The date and hourtime when such purchases or exchange 243
were made;244

       (3) Except as otherwise specified in division (C) of this 245
section, a full and accurate description of each article purchased 246
or received by the dealer that includes identifying letters or 247
marks written, inscribed, or otherwise included on the article and 248
the name and maker of the article if known;249

       (4) If the seller or provider of the articles arrives at the 250
dealer's place of business in a motor vehicle, the license plate 251
number of that motor vehicle along with the state that issued the 252
license plate.253

       (C) For the purchase or receipt of recyclable materials that 254
are not special procedures articles, use of codes for recyclable 255
materials as specified by the institute for scrap recycling 256
industries or its successor organization is sufficient as a 257
description of the articles purchased or received by a scrap metal 258
dealer.259

       (D) All journal brasses, and other railroad metals, other 260
than purchases and sales under sections 4973.13 to 4973.16, 261
inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall be held by the dealer for a 262
period of thirty days after being purchased or acquired.263

       Such(E) The records required under division (B) of this 264
section shall be open for inspection by the representative of any 265
law enforcement agency atand the director of public safety or the 266
director's designated representative during all business hours. A 267
scrap metal dealer shall provide a copy of those records to any 268
law enforcement agency who requests the records or to the director 269
or director's representative, upon request. Records submitted to 270
any law enforcement agency pursuant to this section are not 271
considered public records for purposes of section 149.43 of the 272
Revised Code. Any person may, however, request such records, but 273
the law enforcement agency shall redact information that reveals 274
the name of the seller of any article and the price the dealer 275
paid for any article the dealer purchased or the estimated value 276
of any article the dealer received.277

       (F) No scrap metal dealer shall purchase or receive any 278
articles from a person who refuses to show the dealer a current 279
and valid form of identification that includes a photograph of 280
that person.281

       No scrap metal dealer shall purchase or receive articles from 282
any person the dealer knows is a thief or receiver of stolen 283
property. The law enforcement agency that serves the jurisdiction 284
in which the dealer is located shall provide a list, as that 285
agency determines appropriate, of the names and descriptions of 286
persons known to be or who are suspected to be thieves or 287
receivers of stolen property.288

       No scrap metal dealer shall purchase or receive any special 289
procedures articles from any person who is under eighteen years of 290
age.291

       (G) Every scrap metal dealer shall post a notice in a 292
conspicuous place on the dealer's premises notifying persons who 293
may wish to transact business with the dealer of the penalties 294
applicable to any person who, with the intent to deceive, does any 295
of the following:296

       (1) Provides a false form of identification of the person to 297
the dealer;298

       (2) Provides any other false information to the dealer in 299
connection with the dealer's duty to maintain the records required 300
under division (B) of this section;301

       (3) Commits a theft offense.302

       Sec. 4737.041. A scrap metal dealer who purchases or receives 303
special procedures articles shall do all of the following with 304
respect to each special procedures article:305

       (A) Comply with the requirements of this section in addition 306
to complying with the requirements of section 4737.04 of the 307
Revised Code with respect to those special procedures articles;308

       (B) Take photographs of each special procedures article from 309
at least three perspectives to obtain photographs of the article 310
that depict various sides of the article;311

       (C) If payment is rendered for the special procedures 312
articles, issue a check for the purchase of the special procedures 313
articles;314

       (D) Withhold payment for the purchase of the special 315
procedures articles for a period of two days after the day the 316
special procedures articles are purchased;317

       (E) Make records describing special procedures articles 318
purchased or received available for inspection to business 319
entities for a period of six months after the date of purchase or 320
receipt of the articles, except that the name of the person from 321
whom the special procedures articles are purchased or received and 322
the amount paid for the special procedures articles shall not be 323
made available for such inspection.324

       Sec. 4737.042.  Sections 4737.04 and 4737.041 of the Revised 325
Code do not apply with respect to any of the following:326

       (A) The donation of articles to nonprofit organizations or to 327
any other person, on the condition that the person donating the 328
articles receives no payment or any other valuable consideration 329
in exchange for or due to donating the articles;330

       (B) The sale of common recycled matter;331

       (C) Industrial sales.332

       Sec. 4737.043. Sections 4737.01 to 4737.04 of the Revised 333
Code do not prevent the legislative authority of a municipal 334
corporation from making further and additional regulations not in 335
conflict with those sections. Those sections do not modify or 336
repeal any regulations adopted by a municipal corporation that are 337
in force on the effective date of this section that are not in 338
conflict with those sections.339

       Section 2. That existing sections 4727.08, 4727.11, 4737.01, 340
and 4737.04 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.341